


the real devastation

by thebearjew



Category: Fantastic Four (2015)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, M/M, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-15 05:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4595208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebearjew/pseuds/thebearjew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four times Ben says okay, and one time it really isn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the real devastation

1.  
  
“Do you have a power converter?”

There’s a boy, sitting in the back seat of the car. He’s not sure where he came from, but the only thing he’s sure of right now is a beating if things don’t settle down in the next couple of minutes.

“Hi,” the boy says. “Do you have a power converter?” 

Ben squints.

“Where did you come from?” Ben asks, but then he recognizes him. It’s the boy from his class earlier—

“Hey, you’re the one with the teleporter.” 

“Yeah,” the boy says. “I’m Reed.”

“What do you need one for?”

The screen door slams, and Ben stiffens. He doesn’t think Reed’s noticed, but he needs to get this show on the road before someone comes out to investigate. Then they’ll both be in trouble.

“My project. I’ve figured out—“ and then Reed delves into some sort—something, but Ben figures this has something to with the teleporter.

“Do you want to help me?” Reed asks.

 _You’re crazy_ , Ben wants to say.

 _This isn’t going to work and you’re going to blow yourself up_ , Ben wants to say.

“Okay,” He says.

\---

(Ben watches the toy car disappear, along with half the lights in the city.

“Where’d it go?”

“I don’t know.” Reed shrugs, but Ben thinks he can see the gears churning in Reed’s head. “I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“Oh well, do you need help?”

Reed smiles.)

 

 

2.  
  
Ben is sixteen.

Ben is sixteen, and dirty, and foolish, and _in love_ , because Reed is smiling. Reed is smiling a bright, happy cautious thing, and _god_ , how much longer can he stand here staring at Reed without being creepy. Doesn’t matter, because now they’re in front of Reed’s house saying goodbye, and no, this is so unacceptable, but it looks like Ben’s got to make his own fairytale.

“See you later,” Reed starts to say, but doesn’t finish because Ben.

Ben just solidly goes for it, sidling up all close and whipping off Reed’s glasses, like the cool motherfucker he is, before mashing their lips into something resembling what real people do. He’s careful to mind his healing lip and the tender bruise around his eye, but their noses bump, and when Ben finally slots their mouths perfectly, an electric zing makes its way up and down his spine, passing the part of his stomach that’s torn itself off and transformed its nervous energy in to flying frogs. Not literally, but this is what it feels like to kiss Reed Nathaniel Richards, this edgy, exhilarated sensation. Everything is clear (and would be bright, if he had his eyes opened), and fuck this is so perfect, so wonderful—

Reed pulls away. 

Ben looks at Reed. Reed looks at Ben, and wordlessly takes his glasses.

“Okay, I—“ Ben starts.

“Um,” Reed says, before he blushes and runs up to his front door, slamming it behind him.

\---

(“Look,” Reed stands on Ben’s porch, three days later, “I panicked, panicking is a thing I do, okay?”

“I know.” Ben looks at him pointedly. “I’m sorry.”

“But, like you just—“ Reed stops mid-sentence. He squints, and Ben is reminded of the time he met Reed, hiding in the back of an old pickup, wanting a power converter to change the world.

“You’re sorry?” Reed says suspiciously.

“I made you uncomfortable,” Ben shrugs awkwardly. His plan for the day included fixing an engine and eating til he passes out. He’s in no way, shape or form to deal with all these emotions, kissing Reed brought out. “You’re still my best friend and I care—“

“Thank god,” Reed says, before planting his lips to Ben’s, but because of Reed’s inability to properly aim, he gets the corner of Ben’s mouth. But it doesn’t matter, because Ben properly aligns their mouths anyway, and this is just as perfect as the first time he did this, standing in front of Reed’s house like a damn idiot, only now they’re standing in front of Ben’s house like a bunch of dam idiots, but it’s too perfect, too fucking perfect and those electric shots are pinging full force in his body, and those damn flying frogs have become butterflies now, fluttering chaotically in the vast wasteland that’s his fucking stomach, and this is such a fucking wonderful feeling, this sort of calm-like emptiness, this is what love must feel like—

Reed pulls away first, again, and smiles at Ben.

“We can kiss forever now, right?” Reed’s messing with his shirt and wearing that nervous smile.

 _Fuck yeah_ , Ben wants to say, but he smiles instead. 

“I guess,” Ben shrugs, but his smile, and the crinkling of his eyes tells Reed all he needs to know.)

   
  
  
3.  
Reed is okay being here among scientific miracles labs, doing things that'll make a difference in the world. It's just Ben who's having trouble adjusting, having the only constant anchor in his life untether itself—

Reed gives him one of those sad puppy looks, and Ben guess he must’ve said something out loud.

"I’m fine," Ben says

(I'm fine, he says one time while Reed cleans the cuts on his knuckles. Reed opens his mouth to say something, but changes his mind. He knows better. Ben never tells, so he's already learned to stop asking.)

“It’s only a forty minute train ride,” Reed says.

That's not what he wants to hear right now, in the middle of his internal separation crisis, and this one of those times that Ben finds it hard not slap the complete shit out of Reed. It’s hard, really really hard not to, especially since _it’s only forty minute train ride_ , is the exact opposite of what he wanted to hear right now, But Reed keeps talking, and his knuckles whiten, and takes a deep breath.

“Reed.” He cuts in, his temper warming up. He sighs and turns his back to lean against the wall. It’s silent for a couple of moments, because he hesitates in saying what he knows is true.

“You belong here.”

 _You actually belong with me_ , his mind supplants. And he can see the same thought in churning along in Reed’s mind.

He looks at Reed again and holds out his hand. Reed takes it.

“You belong here.” Ben says again, looking into deep into Reed’s eyes. He can almost count the tiny freckles spattering the bridge of Reed’s nose.

“You will be fine,” Ben places a gentle kiss on Reed’s forehead. “You belong here, and you’re going to make friends,” kisses on both eyelids, “and have cancer cured by the end of the week.”

Nobody says anything for minute, but then Reed sighs heavily and looks out the window.

"I'll be fine," Ben tries again.

Reed gives him that look that says he doesn't really believe him, but let's it go.

"Okay," he sighs again. 

"Okay," Ben echoes.

\---

 _A forty minute train ride_ , Ben thinks over Reed’s words. _A forty minute train ride_.

Forty minutes of nervous misery, 2400 seconds of his heart beating wildly in his chest, 89 blocks of separation. but it's fine. Ben's survived worse than this.

 _Okay_ , Ben tells himself. _You can do this_.

\---

(Ben’s not weak. He’s _not_ , but he will never exactly admit the depth of his love for Reed. It’s a fearful and wonderful thing, his love. Fearful in the way that the corner piece of stomach tore and turned into a wake of frog-butterflies, fluttering in his esophagus, getting stuck in throat the first time he realized he loved Reed. It’s fearful because the butterflies leave with a sort of calm emptiness. His love sits in a ball in his chest, close to the ball of void-like anger born of split knuckles and fresh bruises.

Rage is something he knows, but love no. And you know what they say. 

Better the devil you know, than the one you don’t.)   
  
  
  
4.  
  
“Hey,” Ben says softly.

Reed smiles back, a sleepy, sated, fucked-out mess.

“Rough week?”

“Mrrmph,” Reed grumps into his pillow, but the sound is more like that of a dying whale. Ben chuckles and buries his face into Reed’s shoulder. He drops one kiss, two kisses, three kisses. “Don’ wanna talk about it.”

“Okay,” Ben laughs. “Okay.”

“College is kicking my butt,” Reed mutters, relaxing under the onslaught of Ben’s kisses.

“Yeah?” Ben smiles gently, stopping to trace the curve of Reed’s face. “Tell me.”

Reed just groans even louder. “We have to reset the relays, because Victor did them wrong; we got the wrong type of metal yesterday, so now we have wait for the right type, but we’re a couple of weeks behind development and the code’s not working and—“ Reed sighs. “The universe is horrible and everything sucks.”

“Tough.”

“And I think I’m down with something. Feel my chest,” he says, directing Ben’s hand to his cock.

“Oh no,” Ben shakes his head, smirking, kissing up Reed’s neck. “It’s not good.”

“What the prognosis, doc?”

“Well, this your badness level,” Ben watches Reed’s eyes glint in amusement, and raises his hand a couple inches from Reed’s head. “Caused by working too hard, and it’s unusually high for someone your size.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, and we need to fix it.”

“With your cock?” Reed asks hopefully.

“Oh my god, Reed,” Ben bursts into laughter. “ _Reed_.”

“That is a valid course of treatment.” Reed wiggles his hips.

“No,” Ben looks at him meaningfully, shifts them both until they’re curled around one another. “You need to be well rested and able to walk tomorrow.”

“Walking’s overrated,” Reed mumbles, sleep starting to sink into him. “ _Interdimensional travel’s_ overrated.”

“Yeah, okay,” Ben smiles, closing his eyes.

\---

(“Hey.”

Ben is standing, resting his forehead against Reed’s, and they both say nothing for a moment. It’s five in the morning, and Ben has to catch the early train in order to back home in time. Reed’s still half asleep, doing his best to stay awake.

“I’m gone,” he says, giving Reed a peck on the lips, “but call me later.”

Reed nods and Ben kisses him, fuller.

“Call me.”

  


When Ben picks up the phone at two in the morning, Reed is drunk and rambling and happy and _"I’m not going to do this without you Ben, I’m not!”_ , so Reed gets up, gets dressed and catches the metro to Reed’s

“Hi,” Reed hugs him hard, and crushes their mouths together. “Hi.”

“You wanted me to see something,” Ben grins, and Reed grins back, taking his hand babbling about the project all the way to the lab.)

 

   
  
  
+1.  
  
“He escaped,” they say.

Ben doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t say anything for the longest moment. He thought he knew Reed better than that, he knows Reed better that. There has to be some other explanation. There has—

“He’s not coming back,” they say.

Reed’s not---he’s not. He wouldn’t.

“But we can fix you. We just need your help.”

Reed wouldn’t.

He wouldn’t, his mind feebly protests, but none of that fucking matters because it’s been a week, and Ben knows that Reed knows better. He loves Reed. And Reed loves him. And there’s no way Reed would do this, but there’s nothing left but Reed’s empty cell and a _‘I promise I’ll help you’_ —and damn.

His heart gives a weird thump, and he finds his insides feel like molten sand.

“Okay,” Ben says, brokenly, after a considerable amount of silence. “What do you need me to do?”

\---

(Ben remembers the story of Icarus, the boy who was told not to fly too close to the sun lest he melt his wings off, nor too close to the sea lest he get dragged beneath the murky waters. He knows he is Icarus, and Reed is his sun. He flew too close, and now his wings have melted, and he’s plunging into the ocean below. He flew too close and, and now he realizes. He realizes, but the cost of realizing is never being able to fly close that the sun again.

Somehow, this feels nothing like falling.)

**Author's Note:**

> ahh yes, my precious sinnamon rolls, all aboard the ben/reed thirst train to hell.
> 
> (p.s. i saw the movie about two and half weeks ago, and sort of forgot everything?? that wasn't ben/reed?? so if anything's weird...)


End file.
